My invention relates to a device for thermal treatment of articles, like container packed wares, comprising a treatment space and an endless conveyor which, within this space, follows a looped path and, outside the space, traverses a charging and discharging station, the conveyor consisting of one or more chains provided with equidistantly spaced carrying elements for the articles to be treated.
Such a device and carrying elements to be applied therewith are known in various embodiments. Reference is made to Assignees U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,151,540; 3,163,284; 3,181,689; 3,211,275; 3,315,787 and 3,379,115.
My invention aims to realize a structural simplification, especially of the conveyor, such that the functioning of this conveyor is entirely independent of the other parts of the device and particularly of the wall of the various spaces traversed by the conveyor. It is often necessary to observe a particular maximal distance between the carrying elements and the wall and to dispose special guide plates in the curves in order to prevent the articles from leaving the carrying elements. This results in complications, partially because of the fact that a varying extension occurs to the conveyor chain, particularly in the lower parts of the path.